The Pope and the President Agree: It’s Time to Address Climate Change

Pope Francis and
President Barack Obama are addressing climate change in serious ways, yet
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker continues to deny that it’s a problem, according to
members of the grassroots group Organizing for Action (OFA) on its day of
action last Thursday.

In May, the pope
stunned the world by releasing an encyclical letter on climate change, “Laudato Si: On Care for Our
Common Home,” in which he urges better stewardship of the planet.
Obama has renewed his efforts to combat climate change with his Clean Power
Plan, which would allow the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate
and ultimately reduce the amount of carbon emissions from coal-fired power
plants.

But Walker’s
Wisconsin isn’t heeding the words of Pope Francis or President Obama.

During the past four years, Walker has failed to invest
in renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gases and dependence on fossil fuels;
appointed fossil fuel allies to the Public Service Commission, which is
supposed to regulate utilities; cut 18 scientists and 11 educators from the
Department of Natural Resources in his most recent budget; and has promoted
highway expansion over building out the state’s public transit system,
including high-speed rail.

Most recently,
he’s allowed Wisconsin to join a lawsuit seeking to strike down Obama’s Clean Power Plan, saying
that reducing harmful emissions would be too expensive for the state’s
utilities.

More than 60% of
the state’s electricity was produced from coal in 2013, according to the U.S.
Energy Information Administration (EIA), although Wisconsin has no
local sources of coal and utilities must bring it in from other states.
Wisconsin spews more sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide than the average state,
according to EIA data.

Although Walker
seems to be most worried about the Clean Power Plan’s cost to utilities,
Wisconsin’s coal dependence is already expensive. Our electricity prices for
residential and industrial consumers are 15% above the national average and Wisconsin
ranks #17 in the nation for the average residential price for
energy, the EIA found. Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota have lower
electricity rates than Wisconsin, according to the EIA’s 2013 data. Thirty
years ago, Wisconsin had some of the lowest electricity costs in the Midwest,
which Wisconsin promoted as it tried to lure companies to locate in our state.

A Moral Issue

Pope Francis will
visit the U.S. later this month and will address the U.S. Senate on Thursday,
Sept. 24. More than 100 faith-based groups will rally on
the National Mall to support his message on climate change, according to the National
Catholic Reporter. OFA plans to organize house parties to watch Pope
Francis’ visit to learn more about his message on global warming.

Pope Francis, in
contrast to Walker, isn’t concerned with ensuring that fossil fuel-based
utilities continue to generate profits at the expense of the planet. Instead,
the pope addressed his message to “every living person on the planet” and asks
that we see ourselves as part of a larger, interconnected ecosystem. Pope
Francis stressed the need to take care of the planet on moral grounds, arguing
that humans are part of an ecosystem that includes our “sister,” the Earth.

“This sister now
cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our
irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her,” the
pope wrote. “We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled
to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is
also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water,
in the air and in all forms of life. This is why the earth herself, burdened
and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she
‘groans in travail.’”

The pope—who
worked as a chemist before becoming a Catholic priest—acknowledges that the
causes of global warming are being debated, but he also asks that we observe
the effects of climate change for ourselves.

“But we need only
take a frank look at the facts to see that our common home is falling into
serious disrepair,” Pope Francis wrote. “Hope would have us recognize that
there is always a way out, that we can always redirect our steps, that we can
always do something to solve our problems. Still, we can see signs that things
are now reaching a breaking point, due to the rapid pace of change and
degradation; these are evident in large-scale natural disasters as well as
social and even financial crises, for the world’s problems cannot be analyzed
or explained in isolation.”

The pope called
for policies that will conserve our natural resources and protect the poor,
since they are the most affected by water shortages, extreme heat and loss of
biodiversity due to the warming climate.

OFA volunteer Edna
Fenceroy said she was most impressed by Pope Francis’ emphasis on protecting
the poor.

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Comments (4)

"More than 60% of the state’s electricity was prod...

"More than 60% of the state’s electricity was produced from coal in 2013". What was not said was that the push to have 10% of our electricity to be from renewable sources by 2015 is not doing so well either, in 2013 Wisconsin did hit just a smidgen over 10%, so we can throw it all away and go back to fossil fuel now?Fact... Nikola Tesla was a genius, but he was soon branded as a mad scientist and a crackpot. He was trying to develop a way to transmit electrical power without wires, until his investors cut him off. When they found that the power was not going to need wires, they said "Where do you put the meter?"Tells you what the power utilities really want, not clean power, not renewable power, not power harvested from the wind and sun, but power from a source that only they have control of, so they can force us to pay a higher price under threat of turning off the power source.So if Global Warming really IS man-made, doesn't that mean man is in control of the weather so they can control renewables? No, there are the laws of entropy... when energy degrades to disorganized energy such as "a little bit of heat spread all over", that kind of energy is not usable for running a factory or shipping products. For heat to be useful there must also be cold areas in contrast to heat, Global Warming is useless energy

WaukeshaGuymore than 2 years ago

Note that the sub-title says "Walker's Wisconsin i...

Note that the sub-title says "Walker's Wisconsin is in denial", not "Walker is in denial"... a testament to the people who voted Walker into power. That's the real problem here, not Walker himself, but "We the People" who vote our fears, our selfishness, and our uninformed ignorance... like the drunk on the barstool next to you is more trustworthy than any PhD.There is an old saying that applies to those who did not finish school... "If you cannot dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle them with bullsh#t". This really works well when the "them" is of average (or less) education, allows even an under-educated "preacher" to tell them what to do.Lest any of you say I am accusing you of not being smart enough, just watch "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" or remember back to Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" and tell me how smart the average US Citizen is... Scary!

WaukeshaGuymore than 2 years ago

We all agree there is climate change. I doubt a g...

We all agree there is climate change. I doubt a governor in one state will save the world. I suggest if you believe in climate change, start investing in shipping ports in Iceland and consider retiring in St. George Utah. Make climate change work for you, not the other way around.

djlresearchmore than 2 years ago

Evangelical Christians don't trust the Catholic Po...

Evangelical Christians don't trust the Catholic Pope anymore than they trust Obama. To them, Obama represents taking from them and giving to someone less worthy. The same holds true for the Pope, the Catholic collection plate filters up through the Catholic hierarchy of Bishops, Archbishops, and Cardinals on the way to the Vatican... out of the USA! At least Evangelical tithes stay within the small local community they came from, right where the money earned belongs.Besides, Catholics mention Satan's name in their Baptismal vows, they induct infants before they can make up their own minds, and they "get in your personal business" through the confessional booth. At least Evangelicals know what is clearly obvious, that the Earth is huge, cannot be harmed by tiny humans and their minuscule activities. The Sun is just a tiny source of light, not nearly enough to provide the power we need. We need to burn coal and oil to keep the planet from freezing, and man can do what they want to the plants and animals here, God told us we could in the Garden of Eden.Humans are "Beings" just like God almighty is, (and monkeys are only animals). Whatever Noah did not carry on the ark and log in the Bible does not exist anymore, dinosaurs included. That said, God "made extinct" many animals that were not needed by man anymore, showing him he can eliminate whatever is in his way, including Obama's species.(Did I lay on thick enough? plenty of BS for you?) Of course, if education would have stayed with the one room schoolhouse where the smartest girl in school became the teacher, "books" would never have gotten so radical.

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